Red Mahonia Seeds

About Red Mahonia

• Red mahonia, also known as red barberry, is a large, evergreen shrub that thrives in well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. It's distinguished from other mahonia species by the leaflets, which are two to three times as long as they are wide, with very spiny edges; each leaf has three to nine leaflets. The shrub grows 6 to 8 feet high and wide. Red mahonia is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 7 through 10.

Flowers and Seeds

• In spring, red mahonia sends out clusters of fragrant, bright yellow flowers that draw hummingbirds into the garden. The flowers are followed by pink or red berries that contain small seeds.

Sowing Seed

• Starting red mahonia from seed is not difficult but does require patience. Remove the seeds from the fleshy fruit and rinse them well. Fresh seeds germinate better than old ones, so plant them immediately. To sow outside, prepare a nursery bed by digging or tilling the spot until the soil is loose and airy. Add organic material if your soil is heavy or poor in nutrients. Cover the seeds with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil, water well, then add a label, since the seeds may take up to a year to germinate. Discourage weeds by spreading a thin layer of mulch over the nursery bed. Alternatively, start the mahonia seeds in clay pots. Transplant young seedlings in the spring or early in the fall.

Using the Berries

• Red mahonia berries are edible and quite juicy. Eat them raw or use them to make jelly. The berries are tart when young but sweeten as they age.

About the Name

• Plant classification is an ongoing process, especially now that botanists use DNA sampling as part of the process. As a result, red mahonia's botanical name has changed several times in the last few decades. First classified as a barberry, it was known as Berberis nevinii var. haematocarpa, then just B. haematocarpa. Finally it was moved into the Mahonia genus as M. haematocarpa. You may still find the old names in reference literature and on some garden labels, but regardless of the name, the plant is the same.